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Baltic Assembly
Consisting of South Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Kaliningrad, the Baltic Assembly has close trade arrangements with both the Nordic Union, and the Union of Socialist and Communist Republics. History The Baltic Assembly was first established in 1990 during the fall of the Soviet Union. For many years, the Assembly was relatively irrelevant, until the collapse of the European Union forced many of states within the Assembly to rely on each other more so than they otherwise would have. As a consequence of this reliance, the Baltic Assembly survived the collapse of much of Europe relatively unscathed, even growing slightly by admitting the Autonomous Republic of Kaliningrad, following Russia abandoning the oblast amidst domestic turmoil in 2045. A strong sense of shared national pride exists amongst many of the citizens of the composite states, going so far as for many to view the Baltic Assembly as a single country, with a unified history. Following the separation of Northern Estonia, a source of much criticism of the Assembly, this has only grown stronger. Composite States * Lithuania * Latvia * South Estonia * Kaliningrad The Flag The Baltic Assembly unveiled the first Unified Flag of the Baltic Assembly in 2078, 88 years after the Assembly was founded. The new flag emphasised the nations' shared cultural histories, and the famed historian Dominykas Lukosiunas of Lithuania has commented on it in his award winning book "Tėvynė" (Motherland). "A stark white, symbolising peace and purity, as it has for millennia, lies at the heart of the Baltic Assembly flag. Bold red lies beyond," continued Lukosiunas, "as a nearly universal representation of the blood and sacrifices made for the motherland, balanced by vivid blue, representing the natural beauty and wonder of the skies, the seas, and all that falls between. All of this is encapsulated by broad strokes of gold, an undeniable mark of prosperity throughout the ages, and green, a foundation of national pride unshakeable as the ground itself." Lukosiunas did not offer a remark on the Great Quake of 2064, which nearly levelled the city of Vilnius, the capitol of Lithuania, a founding member of the Baltic Assembly, in regards to this interpretation of the flag. Status of Estonia At the turn of the 22nd century, due to the growing Nordic identity in Estonia, there was a tremendous push for the Northern counties of Estonia to leave the Baltic Assembly and instead join the Nordic Union, an effort supported heavily by the Nordic Union itself. While many Estonians were comfortable within the Baltic Union, some of the Northern counties of Estonia rejected this Baltic identity in favour of a Nordic one. Following many decades of peaceful protests and even the formation of the Estonian Nordic Party (which achieved a majority of the vote in many Northern counties), a referendum on the Nordic identity was announced in 2107. Those within the Northern counties of Estonia could vote in whether or not they wished to remain within the Baltic Union, or join the Nordic Union. The results of this vote were narrow, although ultimately the Northern counties voted to separate. In 2109 the country officially split into North and South Estonia, complete with separate flags. Free travel persists between the North and the South for citizens of either Estonia, and the country as a whole serves as a platform within which to hold negotiations and trade deals between both the Nordic Union and the Baltic Assembly. Category:Alliances